Eva Longoria's MUA Has The Perfect Bronzer Placement Tip For Women Over 40

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Eva Longoria is one of many celebs whose red carpet looks prove that style gets better with age. While her fashion choices typically have a dramatic flair with subtle elegance, her makeup is always bronzed to perfection. This is all thanks to Longoria's makeup artist, Val Garland. Garland became known in the industry as a beauty extraordinaire after getting her start doing makeup for catwalk models in Paris and being appointed as L'Oreal Paris' global makeup director. Her unique bronzing technique has caused people to turn heads on more than one occasion — especially on Longoria.

The method involves carefully applying product to select areas of the face rather than all over. For Garland, the best places are whenever natural sunlight normally hits the face. "Don't go too low. [...] Keep the bronzer high up on the cheekbone," she shared in an interview with Hello! Magazine. From there, she blends the product up toward the temples. This, she explained, gives a more lifted and youthful appearance that enhances, rather than sculpts. Her technique is evident on Longoria's face, adding a subtle warmth without being too harsh or dull. This approach allows the bronzer not to have to work as hard as a traditional contour. 

Of course, getting your bronzer placement right is just one piece of the puzzle. If you want to achieve the best results, formula matters, too. With mature skin, it's best to avoid any heavily pigmented bronzers as they could unintentionally emphasize fine lines. As makeup artist Christian Briceno told Vogue, "The sweet spot is a gentle, skin-like sheen that keeps the face from looking dull." Val Garland particularly recommends cream products because they are buildable and easy to blend.

Though it's unclear what specific bronzer Longoria's makeup artist uses on her for red carpet events, the actor herself has been known to use Makeup by Mario's Soft Sculpt Blurring Bronzer powder in the shade medium dark. The popular product is described as offering light to medium coverage and contains no shimmer. In a video shared with Vogue, Longoria explained how she achieves a natural glow using the product at home. "I use many different kinds of creamy bronzers [...] I like to bronze up just the outside of my face because I want to look snatched," she said as she applied the product.

In alignment with what makeup artists recommend, the "Desperate Housewives" actor used the fluffy end of IT Cosmetics' Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7 to apply bronzer on the outer edges of her face. Generally, it's best to stay away from the center of the cheek to prevent a muddy look. Speaking to Hello!, Val Garland said, "Use large strokes [and] [d]on't press too hard." This subtle application creates a radiant finish without the appearance of a harsh contour.